Another Philippine Religious Group Caught Up in International Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Cases

Another Philippine Religious Group Caught Up in International Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Cases

As the country watches Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), face legal trouble in the United States over fraud and bulk cash smuggling charges, another Philippine religious organization is facing growing international financial controversy.

Brazilian court records place Members Church of God International (MCGI) minister Licerio "Sonny" Espayos Catan and current leader Daniel Razon in criminal proceedings in the state of Santa Catarina. These cases follow an older history of financial crimes involving MCGI (commonly known as Ang Dating Daan) founder Eliseo "Eli" Soriano and his associate Ulysses Alaer Villamin, whose bank deposits of unknown origin were challenged by Brazilian tax authorities.

Catan is a defendant in an ongoing criminal proceeding brought by the Santa Catarina State Public Prosecutor's Office in 2026. Case number 5001597-13.2026.8.24.0082 is classified as a crime against the tax order (crimes contra a ordem tributária).

Catan also appears in an official notice dated October 23, 2024 from Brazil's Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN), which lists him as a person connected to an earlier criminal proceeding. Razon has been charged with serious threats against a financial investigator in a local guarantee court in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. In a separate proceeding, his son Daniel Razon Jr is the subject of a federal criminal tax investigation. The case was brought in 2025 by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office before Brazil's Fourth Federal Regional Court.

MCGI's expansion into Brazil began under founder Eli Soriano, who extended the church's TV evangelism across South America. In 2013, MCGI was sending additional workers to strengthen its Latin American operations. Brazil was Soriano's main overseas base until his death in February 2021.

After taking over leadership of the church, Razon built a reputation as a philanthropist through cash donations and other charitable activities aimed at police and government agencies at home and abroad, including in El Salvador, Brazil, and Colombia.

The financial controversy predates the newly discovered cases. In October 2020, Brazil's Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF) upheld the tax assessment against Villamin and imposed a 150 percent aggravated penalty for tax evasion. In March 2021, the same council upheld a similar penalty against Soriano's estate.

Sources:

Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Catarina v. Licerio Espayos Catan, Case 5001597-13.2026.8.24.0082
https://www.escavador.com/processos-judiciais/500xxxx-1320268240082-d63c9d84d4

MCGI Minister Licerio Catan, tax-responsibility notice naming Licerio Catan, p. 21
https://www.gov.br/pgfn/pt-br/servicos/editais-de-notificacao/editais-2024/EDITALDEABERTURADEPROCEDIMENTOADMINISTRATIVODERECONHECIMENTODERESPONSABILIDADEN173523.10.2024.pdf

Daniel Soriano Razon: Brazilian judicial proceedings
https://www.escavador.com/nomes/daniel-soriano-razon-00564d9842

Court of Justice of Santa Catarina — Official judicial portal
https://www.tjsc.jus.br/web/processo-eletronico-eproc

Daniel Eusebio Razon Junior: Brazilian judicial proceedings, tax-crime investigation.
https://www.escavador.com/nomes/daniel-eusebio-razon-junior-08c5912161

Brazilian Fourth Federal Regional Court — Official website
https://www.trf4.jus.br/

MCGI — Expansion of church operations in South America, August 31, 2013
https://mcgi.org/mcgi-sends-workers-aid-global-propagation-effort-south-america/

Ulysses Alaer Villamin, Decision 2201-007.654, October 8, 2020
https://carf.fazenda.gov.br/sincon/public/pages/ConsultarJurisprudencia/listaJurisprudencia.jsf?idAcordao=8517438

Eliseo Fernando Soriano, Decision 2201-008.577, March 10, 2021
https://carf.fazenda.gov.br/sincon/public/pages/ConsultarJurisprudencia/listaJurisprudencia.jsf?idAcordao=8792095